Right Wing Manipulates Spanish Attacks

March 17, 2004

Conservatives have willingly manipulated the war on terrorism for partisan and ideological gain since 9/11. But in the aftermath of the tragic terrorist bombings in Madrid last week, right wing vitriol reached a new low as conservatives assaulted Spanish supporters of incoming Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as "appeasers" and "supporters of al Qaeda." Knight Ridder syndicated columnist Joel Mowbray stated, "Voters in Spain pulled the lever for al Qaeda on Sunday, and it may only be a matter of months before Osama bin Laden tries to replicate the results in the U.S."

• The Spanish election results are about credibility, not support for terrorists. Prime Minister Jose Aznar's party lost the election because he deceived the Spanish people in the aftermath of the Madrid bombings. The Washington Post reports today that Aznar "undertook an intense campaign to convince the Spanish public and world opinion-makers that the Basque separatist group ETA had carried out the attacks," despite strong evidence of al Qaeda involvement.
• Conservatives equate exercising basic democratic rights with support for terrorists. Conservatives want to intimidate and threaten anyone who votes for a leader who thinks there is a better way to fight the war on terrorism. For the sake of protecting right-wing governments, they are ready to sacrifice basic rights.
• President Bush should immediately disavow conservative surrogates who insinuate that those who oppose his administration's policies are terrorist supporters. Conservatives aren't really interested in the victims of Madrid; they're interested in protecting their partisan interests in November. Progressives argue that we must all stand united in the face of the terrorist threat.

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